A Promising, Committed Artist with a wonderful Voice
Large-voiced tenors are in short supply today, a phenomenon that most likely traces its origin to the vocal education system that stresses importance on the purity of tone so favored in Mozart and Handel's operas that are in such a vogue in today's classical music scene. However beautiful and well-controlled many of today's tenor voices are, this does not produce the thrilling electricity that you can get from voices that once rang full and true in a manner similar to that of the singers from an earlier part of the century like Ludwig Suthaus, Ramon Vinay, and Max Lorenz in the German wing and Franco Corelli and Carlo Bergonzi in the Italian department. Fortunately, a few stars do emerge from this low calorie vocal rubble who can prove themselves successors to the crown that has for so long been left to the hands of many a tenor who lacks not only the heft but also the imagination to apply that magical touch that place the stamp on the work of a star. Jonas Kaufmann is one such singer, and it is most fortunate that Decca took the incentive to hire this tenor for a long awaited recital CD featuring his work in a variety of repertory that not only amazes the listener with this artist's versatility, but also with his outstanding commitment.

Perhaps he is not idiomatic in every sense of the word. His work in Puccini hardly describes the plush, Italianate cushion that characterizes the work of tenors like Bergonzi, nor does his Verdi raise any flags that indicate the second coming of a Domingo or a Carreras. However, its his ability to produce a consistently charming and aesthetically beguiling interpretation of these roles outside his natural fach that makes him such an irresistible find. His voice is perhaps better suited (due to its dark, large timbre) to the more heroic German roles, but we would be poorer if we didn't hear what magic he could conjure with his singing outside roles like Walther.

A truly outstanding debut CD, and from the previews taken from the Meistersinger and Freischutz excerpts, I certainly hope to hear more from this tenor that will edge him slowly towards the roles where I believe his voice will truly shine--Siegmund, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Tristan, and Siegfried.

Well done
Mr. Kaufmann has a nice voice, the high registrer sounds different than the low, but any way he has his own style and as result it's a good interpretation!

Well Done!!

Unique voice
Some may not like Kaufmann's voice, but as an ex-baritone turned tenor, I really enjoy his voice. It will also be helpful to have a native German recording to share with my diction class.

I AM IN LOVE
I have been a huge fan of operatic tenors for nearly all of 75 years. I own numerous recordings of the great operatic recordings from "live from the Met" which I started listening to when I was about 12 or 14 years. Carreras and Domingo have been my favorite for years. I was looking thru "operatic tenors" on Amazon music when I listened to the recording of Jonas Kaufmann and I am as smitten as I was when I was a romantic teen. What a wonderful voice!!! Would love to hear him record some of "Phantom of the Opera" music, some of the Mario Lanza songs like "This Is My Beloved". Besides having a great, wonderful voice, he is pretty neat to look at also.

This tenor is the real deal.
Never mind what the "Grammphone" said in its excerpt for this album. The first track from "La Boheme" is very neatly done,and the rest of the tracks all offer 'better than most' performances.
The middle register is very full and powerful. The upper register sounds like laser. Wonderful intonation, immaculate articulation.
Musicality of the top caliber - never sings nonsense, but with full commitment to each aria's differing requirements.
This is a top-notch artist, blessed with a wonderful voice.
Miss this, and you will regret.